Latest and greatest Open Water Diver!

Chona practices neutral buoyancy as a whale shark swims overhead.

Congratulations to Miss Chona on successfully becoming an Open Water Scuba Diver! She was excellent throughout the course and even with whale sharks passing over her she didn’t lose focus – her instructor did:)

Final training dives were conducted during a very wet and windy Sunday at dive sites around Mactan Island. Also onboard that day time braving the weather were Lou and Analyn. Not sure if they finally joined the 10 meter club, but Analyn skipped the last dive of the day leaving Lou to try and join the club ‘solo’.

Also benefiting from Club Vera’s resident scuba instructor was Ailene. For the first time in her life she is now able to float without the aid of a life vest. There are many more things left to teach her…

Always a pleasure to welcome Ailene onboard.

Our up coming safari is eagerly awaited as we attempt to dive six different islands in three days – Cabilao, Panglao, Pamilacan, Cebu, Sumilon, and Balicasag! Check back here next week to see how we got along or email petermawby@gmail.com for more info.

A typical scene from life onboard HMS Vera.

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by Club Vera on February 14, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Misc.

Posted by Club Vera on February 14, 2012

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/latest-and-greatest-open-water-diver/

Dive into 2012

Peter & Phil exploring a new reef.

We said farewell to 2011 with dives at Nalusuan & Marigondon with our old friend Darren Staggs back onboard. Two days later we caught the Oslob bug and headed over there to see what all the fuss over a bunch of little whale sharks was about.

Darren seems satisfied with his latest trip over to dive with us.

Turns out the hype was more than justified. As soon as we anchored in the shallow bay where they reside two whale sharks (know locally as butanding) swam around and under our boat, causing spontaneous cheers and wide smiles from everyone. Underwater the sight was even more spectacular. These giants lazily followed the fishermen feeding them, giving us the rare opportunity to come within just a few metres.

Peter & Chona fail to see the large fish swimming behind them.

We’ve returned only once since then and it was a very different story. A boundary has been put around the bay so viewing them from the boat has become impossible, but this does allow them protection from the dangers of boat propellers.

In hindsight Chinese New Year was probably not the best time to visit either as the numbers in the water spoiled the experience. I’ve since heard the authorities have implemented a quota on visitor numbers each day. Hopefully we’ll return and enjoy what is undoubtedly a truly unique and privileged experience.

Taken at Balicasag while diving with Peter C.

The end of January took us to the islands of Camotes and Tulang for a day safari. Underwater action was provided by Adam and Mike as Steve took on the role of stunt coordinator for the fight scenes with a snake thrown in for good measure. Lou and Analyze attempted to join the 10meter club, but wearing wetsuits must constitute very safe sex!

It was a pleasure to welcome back onboard Rod the Bod and Ophelia for guest star appearances as two of our mermaids. They helped lead the party on the way back to port.

Jeremy and Ophelia dancing on the sun deck.

Next up: Day safari to Cabilao and a three day safari to Panglao. Contact petermawby@gmail.com for more details or click here for a full itinerary.

Whale Shark Ahoy! (clubvera.wordpress.com)
Lessons from Donsol (sorsogoncity.wordpress.com)

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by Club Vera on February 9, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Misc.

Tagged Balicasag, Bohol, camotes island, Cebu, Club Vera, Diving, Exploration, Philippines, Scuba Diving Club, Whale Shark

Posted by Club Vera on February 9, 2012

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/dive-into-2012/

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 37 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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by Club Vera on January 1, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Misc.

Posted by Club Vera on January 1, 2012

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/2011-in-review/

Whale Shark Ahoy!

Phil looks on as a whale shark swims under HMS Vera

Due to the typhoon that swept through the Philippines our dive safari was delayed by one day. This gave everyone the opportunity to show of their bowling skills down at the ally in SM. It was agreed the important thing was to beat the Germans, unfortunately them being Germans they cruised to an easy victory, congratulations. Phil must have thought we were playing one pin bowling rather than eight…

Hole in one!

The following day the skies cleared and we set off. First dive of the trip was to Caubian Cave. Down at 30m+ this has become a firm favourite with Club Vera members, offering memorable dives and a change of pace from reef diving.

Very lonely in here...

Unfortunately Ben was stranded on Bohol and missed the first days diving but joined us that evening for Christmas dinner. Club Vera took over the restaurant much to our delight, and the consternation of the young family seated in the middle. Permission given for party poppers, out came the bazookas. Aimed at the ceiling fans, while it may not snow here, we were treated to a multi-coloured Christmas!

Bernie gets the party going with a bang!

Our second day of the trip will go down as one of the best this year. 1^st dive CCC Marine Sanctuary. More fish on this site than you can shake a fishy stick at. Literally 100’s of 1,000’s of damsels, dotty backs, anthasis, etc. while in the ‘near’ distance schools of jacks, snapper, hunting trevally, and a the biggest Giant Barracuda I’ve ever seen.

But the best was yet to come. Taking advice from local fishermen we travelled to a location where whale sharks had been spotted earlier in the day. Sure enough there they were. Using both the deck of HMS Vera and the dingy to put snorkelers in the water we were treated to more than an hour with these magnificent creatures. I was lucky enough to swim at 6m depth with one. http://youtu.be/Mw63KspoQYg Lhera was mistaken as plankton and nearly eaten! http://youtu.be/gBGew971R98 While Phil’s shiny beacon head attracted one right under our boat!

All our guests were privileged to swim with these magnificent creatures

As a measure of just how cool this experience was Niko was seen smiling more than once. And he’s a German! Mark and Mar Jeri made guest star appearances on this day, with Mar Jeri lost for words when asked how she felt at swimming with a whale shark…

The days diving was rounded off with yet another great dive under the pier at Padre Burgos – or as Phil likes to call it, The Nappy Dive.

Phil & Lhera pose for Ben

The evening ended with karaoke at the roof top bar of out guesthouse. http://youtu.be/zEdyPfKvCXc Phil showed his appreciation of Paul, Ben and Peter’s singing by plugging his ears with tissue before leaving early. Everyone’s a critic eh?

A special word of thanks to John who endured three days of English humor (he’s German, similar to his brother Niko) but carried it with grace and gave as good as he got. He only started diving while here in the Philippines, courtesy of Marla Warla (Padi 666) and he had one aim – to dive with turtles. We hid these from him until the very last dive on the last day and then gave him three. Another happy guest.

Finding santa on a dive in S.Leyte was a highlight of the trip. Sadly Ben missed it.

The journey home was speeded up by Ben and his invisible oar: http://youtu.be/NFMB6pAH1Xw and a game of Pictionary where Lhera was stumped for the answer when Phil drew a picture of a parrot and a fish. Any suggestions for Lhera…?

A big thank you to Paul for most of the underwater pictures you see here. You can visit his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcowell/sets/72157619834269358/ His camera worked on every dive, and he didn’t drop it even once. Well done.

Next up: Exploratory diving around the North Coast of Bohol and Western Leyte…

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by Club Vera on December 27, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in S.Leyte, Whale sharks!

Tagged Caves, Club Vera, Coral Reefs, Diving, Exploration, Marine Conservation, Padi, Philippines, Visayas, Whale Shark

Posted by Club Vera on December 27, 2011

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/whale-shark-ahoy/

Club Vera Xmas Party

The stage is set.

Oh I wish it could be Christmas everyday – but that would make us all alcoholics so better we stick to once a year.

When Club Vera throws a party people know it’s going to be something special. Dancers were booked, games were organised, prizes were selected, beer was ordered, shots bar set up and stage erected. By 6pm guests started to arrive…

Early arrivals were those strange folk who fathered children and stuck around. Natsumi, Marky and Sparky didn’t seemed to mind their fathers too much, indeed they clung a little tighter when introduced to their friends.

Speech!

By 8pm most had arrived and MC Oping (‘assisted’ by Ben) got the proceedings underway. Sir Phil gave a speech thanking everyone for helping to make the year a success before giving the stage over to a traditional Filipino dance troupe. From this point on the memories of this writer become a little hazy. Fragments of the night remain, with flashbacks helped by video and photo evidence.

Who's that idiot in the background...?

Party games stand out as some of the best fun a grown adult can have, mainly because they allow you to regress back to childhood. Popping a balloon by jumping on someone either had little people bouncing off (thanks to Lee for slam dunking the little one), or big guys wiping out the poor fellow sat quaking in his chair as a drunk rhino comes charging (no names, but Paul may be receiving a medical bill in the post). Touch my eggplant also went down well.

Subscribe to Club Vera’s YouTube channel for edited highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ClubVera1/videos

Vera's got talent - sadly Pecto didn't win.

The main stage also saw plenty of action. Lhera led the line in a fantastically choreographed dance piece, and while she is the wife of my boss I think it’s safe to say she was looking hot that night!

We were also treated to a very sexy solo dance by Jeremy. Apparently some drunkard rushed up at the end picking her up and completed several laps of the stage before evil looks from her boyfriend ended this. I wasn’t there so cannot verify this account….

Self combusting boy was a big hit.

The stage stood up well, but alas the combined pounding of western feet during the local stick dance was too much. The end result resembled the crater stroon surface of the moon, with some poor sod falling through.

Unknown party goer falls through stage...

I’d like to say the night ended on a high, but my last clear memory was the beginning of a shots competition with the bar girls, builders and Phil. What is certain however is everyone who attended was treated to a fantastic Christmas party by Phil, so a very big thank you to him and all you happy party goers.

Bring on the next PARTY!!!

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by Club Vera on December 25, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Misc.

Tagged Cebu, Club Vera, Diving, Mactan, Padi, Party, Philippines, Scuba, Visayas

Posted by Club Vera on December 25, 2011

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2011/12/25/club-vera-xmas-party/

Where Eagles Dare

Dingy@Sunset

To summarize 100 years of English-German history; Two World Wars and One World Cup. So this was always going to be a politically sensitive trip as we’d arranged to stay at a German resort due to our allies in the Dutch resort being fully overrun. The only sign of the French resort was a white flag in the sand.

Herr Colin the owner knew we were coming so our nerves were on edge as we rounded the tip of Anda with caution and trepidation. Formidable fortifications lay ahead as we saw for the first time, resting high on the cliff and looking impregnable, Iron Cross Resort (renamed Blue Star Resort). We sent out a landing party of three crew members to test the reception. Only when they returned safely did we send our guests ashore.

Fort Colin

While the night passed off peacefully, there was a nervous atmosphere in the morning as towels had been laid on sun loungers before dawn, and the smell of German sausage hung thick in the air. Locating Phil and Lhera we made a tactical retreat to the boat to discuss strategy. Phil assured me they were friendly and the past was history now with Herr Colin keen to meet with me.

After a great days diving it was time to meet the commandant. So when I was greeted with a thick northern, “Ay up mate, good to see ya.” Followed by howls of laughter from Phil and everyone around I was considerably confused. Turns out the English won here some time ago, and while the majority of the resort is still patronized by friendly Germans Herr Colin is actually a codhead from Hull, UK. The clay pizza oven didn’t look nearly so sinister after discovering this…

Anda Beach

Back to the diving and Anda remains a firm favourite. While the visibility was lower than our last visit the health and activity on the reef remain exceptional. Turtles, wahoo, tuna, barracuda and schools of the usual suspects abound on lush carpets of soft and hard corals. It was here Mar Jerie tried to steady herself with her pointy stick to take a photo only for the ‘rock’ to clamp down on the stick and refuse to let go. She had in fact stuck it in the mouth of a disgruntled clam – well done Mar Jerie!:)

Further up the coast we continued our pursuit for discovering new dive sites and entered the water slightly West of Jagna Public Pier. Seemingly a continuous featureless bottom we soon found an oasis in the sand. Large coral heads were home to a school of Emperor Snapper, an octopus hiding in a coconut, large lionfish and thousands of brightly coloured anthasis.

Mark & Mar Jerie

But the best dive for most was over at Pamilacan. This dive had a little, indeed a lot, of everything. Perhaps what stood out was how close we were able to get to the marine life here; fish swam by almost as if we weren’t there. The seven foot wahoo sighting also helped to make this a memorable dive.

High on the list for most divers is the hope that one day they will be lucky enough to encounter a whale shark. On this trip I’m the only one not to have. So what to think when, after seeing all the guests safely ashore and I joined them, I was told one had spend 10 minutes circling the HMS Vera just moments after I had left. Well, I’ve waited 15yrs so a little longer can’t hurt.

It's in here somewhere....

Later this month S.Leyte – famous for whale sharks…

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by Club Vera on December 1, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Safaris around Bohol

Tagged Anda, Balicasag, Bohol, Cebu, Coral Reefs, Exploration, Marine Conservation, Philippines, Scuba Diving Club

Posted by Club Vera on December 1, 2011

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/where-eagles-dare/

Don’t worry about Peter’s poor health – carry on.

Is John big, or Marla small...?

There was a somber mood to the beginning of this weekends diving. Peter (me) was sick and self diagnosed with a serious case of man flu. It was heartening to see everyone go about their dive preparations as if they didn’t care – I appreciate this cannot have been easy to do. But this was what I wanted as I’m not one to invite sympathy.

New on the boat was a second German, Niko’s brother John. A man mountain; it’s easy to see why some regard the Germans as the master race. He was also a thoroughly nice bloke. This trip was John’s first experience of diving after successfully completing his Open Water course with Marla Warla, Padi No.666.

Niko, John and Michael prepare to dive

Three dives later all agreed the day was a success. Apparently a wall on one site was one of the healthiest dived in a very long time. I wasn’t able to witness this as I was in and out of consciousness with the effort of blowing my nose.

There was also the mysterious case of the $1000 Halcyon light that turned itself on. The light belonged to Lisle but she was certain she had left it switched off when preparing her gear for the first dive. I personally was nowhere near the light at any time what so ever so can only imagine how this could’ve happened…

The second day of our dive weekend found us in Camotes. Phil wanted to do some exploratory dives as we had no other guests onboard. Of the three dives he took, one site he would return to and the other two better left alone. When we return this coming December we will hire the services of Mark, a local dive instructor with four years experience of diving the local reefs there.

Pecto contemplates...

The weekend was rounded off with fiesta. No one seemed to know exactly what was being celebrated, possibly the commemoration of Redhorse beer being created? There were two distinct Club Vera events to mark the dubious anniversary of ‘we’re not quite sure what’. Lhera hosted an eat-and-drink-all-you-can shin dig at her parents place. Among invited guests were goats, chickens, Germans, drunks, family and friends. They were treated to Karaoke classics and a two hour journey in and out. But fun was had by all.

The second event was hosted by Phil and included a trip to the best Indian curry restaurant in Cebu, followed by the Chelsea Liverpool match at the Jokers Arms. Downing pints of John Smiths (with JD chasers) we watched a fantastic win for Liverpool. 44 players on the pitch meant the weekend had come to a happy and inevitable conclusion.

Marla takes the plunge

Next up four day safari to Anda and Balicasag…

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by Club Vera on November 30, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Cabilao Is.

Tagged Anda, Balicasag, Bohol, Cebu, Club Vera, Conservation, Coral Reefs, CoralWatch, Exploration, Philippines

Posted by Club Vera on November 30, 2011

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/dont-worry-about-peters-poor-health-carry-on/

Well I thought it was an octopus…

Hilton Pier - starting point for all our safari's

Forever looking for new sites to dive we took HMS Vera over to Camotes Island, asked a few local fishermen where the fish were and jumped in. Immediately we were impressed with the amount of sand we found! But with a little patience these new found sites started to reveal their secrets to us.

A Dragon Eel and Blue Spotted Ray on one dive, a rare Leaf fish on another, and on one dive what I still hold to be an octopus hiding in a hole. Others may say it was a sea cucumber but I know better.

Panoramic fish

Our final dive was probably the best. For no particular reason Phil pointed to a spot and we jumped in. At a very shallow depth of maybe five meters we found a small freshwater cave. Where the sea and fresh water met a blurry haze obscured the view forcing us to swim through to get a better look. The entrance was narrow and you could feel the cold fresh water streaming past. Inside the visibility was near perfect but a low roof prevented further inspection.

The end of this dive served up a fight between two eels and a cuttlefish. We had ringside seats as the three creatures fought it out. The Cuttlefish was by far the smallest contender but still I saw it biting into one of the eels – legal in this kind of fight I feel. We watched this unfold over several minutes before the eels slid off leaving the cuttlefish stunned and wounded but not yet out. It’s unclear who the intended victim was and whether this was a case of don’t bite off more than you can chew.

English flag

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by Club Vera on November 6, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Camotes Is.

Tagged camotes island, Caves, Cebu, Club Vera, Coral Reefs, Exploration, Padi, Philippines, Scuba, Visayas

Posted by Club Vera on November 6, 2011

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/well-i-thought-it-was-an-octopus%e2%80%a6/

I fought the law, and the ….? Won

Alona Beach

Moored at the picturesque beach of Alona, and nestled amongst a sea of local for hire banka boats rests HMS Vera. Decked out in timber with crew in uniform and flags flying she stands out from the maddening crowd. It is perhaps little surprise then we had a visit from the local coast guard during our three day safari to Balicasag.

Given there were at least 40 other banka boats moored nearby to choose from we were ‘unlucky’ to be the subject of an on the spot inspection. On the spot is not entirely accurate as they didn’t have a boat of their own and chose not to get their feet wet, rather only a little sand between their toes.

We believed all our paperwork was in order so were surprised to be informed we had made a terrible oversight and our boat lacked one important feature. We had shockingly failed to keep a detailed log book of all our waste disposal activity – yes, I mean we didn’t write down when we emptied the bins.

Phil pointed out in a ‘friendly’ manor we were the only boat with a bin (three in fact to comply with strict recycling regulations) and that he didn’t see any other boat owners receiving the same due diligence from the law. It was then quickly put down to a big misunderstanding and Rj was left to ponder how best to translate some of the choice words Phil had used with the rather crest-fallen officer.

Lovely coconut

But we were here to dive and Balicasag offers world class diving – and free to boot given we arrived on a busy public holiday so the collector took his well earned day off.

We chose the less often dived sites as we’ve been here many times and took much pleasure from Rico’s Wall, Cathedral and Rudy’s Rock. Plenty of interesting overhangs, a swim thru, and of course a myriad of different fish along the way.

Pamilacan gave us the best dive of the trip. Fantastic visibility and fish so tame they came within inches of your mask (a shiny new one in the case of Phil who gave his kiddy mask to our dive guide Bernie. Schools of Emperor Snapper, Batfish, Sea Snakes and a giant turtle all in the first 15 minutes of the dive.

Other memorable moments include the Golden Trevally making a bee line for Phil’s polished head, the sleeping turtle, the large Ray spotted and a fantastic wall dive discovered on an island we dived on the way home.

While we’ve dived most of these sites before, Niko, our guest, has just become certified and it was good to see someone new experience these wonders for the first time. Needless to say he enjoyed himself from start to finish. A very nice German.

A Very Nice German

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by Club Vera on November 4, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Safaris around Bohol

Tagged Balicasag, Bohol, Cebu, Club Vera, Diving, Mactan, Marine Conservation, Padi, Scuba Diving Club, Visayas

Posted by Club Vera on November 4, 2011

http://clubvera.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/i-fought-the-law-and-the-%e2%80%a6-won/

Come back Cabilao

In case there was any doubt

We realized with surprise it had been over five months since we last visited this little island set somewhere between Bohol and Cebu. Far too long in our opinion as it’s provided us with many great dives over the years.

Normally we take only one dive here on our way down to Panglao and Balicasag. But this time we decided to dedicate a full day to exploring its other less well known sites, and were impressed with what we found.

The southern tip of Cabilao offers interesting underwater topography and the rumor of shark sightings adds a little anticipation to the dive. The wall on the northern side offers a dramatic drop-off with healthy coral growth, schools of fusiliers, wahoo, and a fun current to take you along.

Possibly the best dive was saved for last. The public pier close to Sea Explorers doesn’t look much when viewed from the boat. Phil dived here many years ago and briefed the dive as a 10m max depth muck dive along a sandy slope. We were a little surprised then to discover a wall and steep slope before us. Never the less the sighting of a huge turtle, juvenile batfish, scorpion fish and thousands of anthasis all bathed in late afternoon sun made this the most memorable dive of the day.